THE OVAL — The sight of a distraught Chris Woakes crumpled in a heap on the boundary edge after he appeared to dislocate his left shoulder late on the opening day of this final Test against India was the last thing England needed.
The sight of Stokes on the England balcony, head in hands as he contemplated his team having to get through the rest of this Test a man down, said it all.
An England statement at the close of play shed little light on the specifics of the injury, saying: “Chris Woakes will be assessed overnight. Likely to have a scan tonight. Further update tomorrow.”
DISASTER for India Gus Atkinson makes no mistake and Shubman Gill is RUN OUT pic.twitter.com/lZuyrQmCK0
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 31, 2025At 36, Woakes has looked a fading force this summer, his 11 wickets in the series coming at 52.18 runs apiece.
Given the makeshift nature of the attack, with Stokes missing and Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse rested, England, 2-1 ahead in the series, look to be in big trouble for the remainder of this Test.
Atkinson has been impressive in his first Test since May after overcoming a hamstring injury, but Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue, aside from two unplayable deliveries that brought him wickets, were wayward.
"That is a BEAUTY" Josh Tongue dismisses Sai Sudharsan with a peach of a delivery pic.twitter.com/CtoenrFO8u
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 31, 2025Playing five Tests in a row in this compacted series that has been squeezed into just 44 days so that the majority of August can be dedicated to the Hundred was always a risk.
There is no doubt that Woakes, if fit, travels for the tour despite a patchy overseas record that includes an average of 51.68 Down Under and the fact he doesn’t get in England’s best XI in Australian conditions.
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Losing him to injury would be a blow. Not in the same category as losing Archer, Carse or Stokes but a blow nonetheless.
That is enough time to be fit for the Ashes but it is more bad luck for England in a week where they really didn’t need it.
And despite being erratic, Tongue showed glimpses of the bowler England hope he can consistently become as he produced two unbelievable deliveries to dismiss Sai Sudharsan and Ravindra Jadeja in a prolonged evening session that finished at 7.30pm.
But a bowler who coach Brendon McCullum described as a “rough diamond” before handing him his Test debut against Ireland in the summer of 2023 lived up to that billing with those two magic balls that underlined his danger bowling around the wicket to left-handers.
The same cannot be said of Overton, playing only his second Test and whose 16 overs went for 66 runs.
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